Post thumbnail
Trying to find the right size clothing can be like navigating the minefield that is our clothing size system in Australia. It usually requires taking three different sizes into the change room, or buying them online and returning the duds. The problem is that there is no official sizing system in Australia. The Australian Standard…
Read More Sizing woes a Standards issue
Post thumbnail
CHOICE is launching canisaveonenergy.com.au to help people tap into hundreds of dollars in electricity savings. “We’ve decided to intervene in the electricity market and cut out the commercial switching sites which are paid by energy companies to sell their products,” says CHOICE Head of Media Tom Godfrey. “Unfortunately, the electricity market has been stitched up by cosy…
Read More Can I save on energy?
Post thumbnail
Dr Martin Gill discusses how electricity retailers continue to justify their poor behaviour by claiming consumers have a choice. This is untrue. As an essential service, consumers must purchase electricity. Consumer rights to access this essential service, at a sensible price, should be protected and not turned into a “game” with a few winners and…
Read More Stop blaming consumers for electricity market failure
Post thumbnail
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the rapidly expanding network of devices, physical objects, services and applications that communicate over the internet. Connected devices number in the billions today, and they transmit data without device owners knowing when or how that happens. This is a big issue for consumers as identified in the latest Economist Intelligence Unit…
Read More Internet of things: privacy and consumers
Post thumbnail
Consumers International has released a new report: The challenge of protecting consumers from unsafe products: A global picture. The report, based on a survey of 132 organisations in 100 countries, found that national product safety legislation is struggling to adapt to the unprecedented challenges created by technological advances and the transformative nature of international supply chains…
Read More Product Safety: A global picture
Post thumbnail
The following blog post is reproduced from Consumers International. Product recalls are an important way to remove unsafe products from the marketplace and prevent injury and death. This year the OECD and the International Standards Organisation will be looking at how recalls can be delivered more effectively to ensure consumers are better protected. The right…
Read More Rapid recall: getting unsafe products off the market quickly
Post thumbnail
The following is a media release from The Hon Michael Keenan MP, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation The Turnbull Government is today announcing a new national body to oversee access to Government-held data as part of a suite of reforms recommended by the Productivity Commission. The reforms, costing $65 million over the next…
Read More Government responds to Productivity Commission Inquiry into data availability and use
Post thumbnail
Following the Review of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the Productivity Commission Report into ACL Administration and Enforcement, Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) released a new tool to help consumers monitor the implementation of various recommendations. The tool, to be updated quarterly, will provide information as to progress. The April 2018 update is now available…
Read More April Update: ACL Review Implementation Tracking Calendar
Post thumbnail
The Turnbull Government has announced significant reforms that aim to give senior Australians and their families confidence they will be properly cared for. A new national independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will also be established to increase transparency through a publicly available rating against quality standards. The establishment of the Commission is in…
Read More COTA welcomes Aged Care reforms
Post thumbnail
Today the Federal Government announced that there will be tougher penalties for corporate misconduct, and stronger powers for the corporate regulator ASIC. The Federal Government has agreed or agreed-in-principle to every recommendation made in the ASIC Enforcement Taskforce final report that was finalised in December 2017. Company directors will now face up to 10 years’…
Read More Jail time for corporate crooks needed to clean up finance sector
Post thumbnail
The Consumers’ Federation of Australia welcomes today’s announcement by the Treasurer Scott Morrison that current ACCC Commissioner Mick Keogh has been appointed Deputy Chair from the end of May for a period of five years. Mr Keogh will oversee the ACCC’s small business work in addition to his current role leading our agriculture work. Cristina…
Read More CFA welcomes ACCC Deputy Chair and Commissioner reappointments
Post thumbnail
ACCAN is alarmed that complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have increased by 28.7 percent in the six months to December 2017, compared to the same time the previous year. The peak Australian telecommunications consumer body says the TIO’s latest statistics reinforce the need for urgent industry action to put customers first. “Continuing high numbers of complaints shine a…
Read More Continuing rise in telco complaints shows need for urgent reforms